NLWest_San Diego Padres

2014 Kansas City Gameday HQ

SAN DIEGO PADRES
5-YEAR SCORECARD
2013 2012 2011 2010 2009
WINS 76 76 71 90 75
RUNS PER GAME 3.81 4.02 3.66 4.10 3.94
RUNS ALLOWED PER GAME 4.32 4.38 3.77 3.59 4.75
OPENING-DAY PAYROLL (millions) $68 $55 $45 $37 $43
Chase Headley
2014 STRENGTHS:
• Continuity; position players mostly
three-year starters
• Good lineup balance
2014 WEAKNESSES:
• Lineup lacks middle-ofthe
order presence
Forecasting an 81-81 season for a team
that’s been five games below .500 the past
two years just feels kind of right. The band
is back. Still an indie band. No big hits just
yet. But they’ve gained experience on the
road that could translate to more wins at
home. Still sticking to their roots, but the
record label has poured some more money
into this release.
HITTING
Not only could the Padres not hit their way
out of a paper bag in 2013, they couldn’t even
hit it over a Petco Park 396-foot centerfield
fence, ranking 21st in the MLB in home runs.
On top of that, the 618 runs San Diego scored
last season ranked only 24th. So when you see
this year’s starting lineup features eight starters
from last year’s team, well, nothing much has
probably changed here. On the hard-to-see
bright side, one could argue the Padres’ 1-2 and
6-7-8 hitters are every bit as dangerous as their
3-4-5 heart of the lineup. Seriously, seventhslot
second baseman Jedd Gyorko, who led
the team in homers (23) in 2013 or second-slot
rightfielder Will Venable (22), may be the first to
20 again among Chase Headley, Carlos Quentin
and Yonder Alonso.
NL WEST
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